Shanghai's maritime court has seized a ship owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. <9104> in connection with a wartime contract dispute involving the Japanese shipping company, according to an announcement by the court.

It is very rare that the property of a Japanese company in China has been confiscated in a dispute over wartime property damage claims.

The move is apparently part of Chinese authorities' pressure against the Japanese government and Japanese companies as relations between the two countries have been strained due to history issues.

According to reports in China and other sources, a Chinese shipping company rent two ships to Daido, a predecessor to Mitsui O.S.K., in Shanghai in 1936. But the Japanese company allegedly failed to return the ships and continued to use them without paying rents after a one-year contract expired. The ships eventually sank.

In the latest allegations of questionable political donations now aimed at top party leaders, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the main opposition party president are linked to contributions from companies after ministries awarded them subsidies, it was learned March 3. (Asahi)

Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday announced the arrest of a late-shift taxi driver from Joto Ward for allegedly raping a number of intoxicated female passengers, reports the Asahi Shimbun. (Tokyo Reporter)

A 65-year-old man who was arrested and jailed for causing trouble at a gasoline station in Mitaka, Tokyo, was rearrested after he returned to the same gas station upon his release and threatened the owner, police said Monday. (Japan Today)